Signs of obsession

What’s your obsession?

One of mine is Outlander. As in the book series. I’d even go as far as calling myself an expert and that’s saying something. My word, it's good. I’ve read them more times than I can remember. My husband calls them 'smut books' and rolls his eyes every time I bury my nose in one.

But I remain a raging fan. I can summarise the key themes in seconds for people who aren’t that interested, and dive into detail for hours for those who are. When the author visited NZ in 2011, I was among the first to buy tickets. I even visited Culloden (key battle scene in the book) mere days after our wedding!

Over the years, I’ve found others in my tribe who are equally as obsessed. Before it became a TV series, we discussed at length who would play Jamie (main character). Now we could talk for hours about how it hasn’t done the books justice.

Just like me and my Outlander fixation, technical experts are often obsessed with their area of expertise:

- They’ve done their research, probably many times over.

- They’re immune to criticism (they know some people won’t ‘get’ them or their area of expertise but they’re OK with that).

- They seek out others who share their passion and explore different perspectives to deepen their knowledge.

- They’ll happily spend personal time and money to learn more, sometimes blurring the line between work and personal.

Moral of the story? When we’re not on the same page as a subject matter expert, knowing how they tick can pave the way for more effective communication, making the next chapter of our working lives that much better.